Washington landslide: 8 dead, 108 missing

By Ashley Fantz, Dana Ford and Janet DiGiacomo, CNN

Updated 2123 GMT (0523 HKT) March 24, 2014

Photos: Washington state landslide41 photos

Washington state landslide – President Obama speaks to first responders, recovery workers and community members on Tuesday, April 22, at the scene of the deadly landslide that devastated Oso, Washington, one month before. The landslide crossed the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River and caused multiple deaths and massive damage.

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Washington state landslide – An excavator clears a drainage channel on Wednesday, April 2.

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Washington state landslide – This satellite image taken on Monday, March 31, shows the path of the landslide.

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Washington state landslide – Workers cut a tree next to a possible victim on Sunday, March 30.

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Washington state landslide – Search-and-rescue teams use a path of plywood to walk through a muddy field in Arlington, Washington, on March 30.

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Washington state landslide – Tryon, a rescue dog muddied from the day's work, stands with his handler March 30 near the west side of the landslide.

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Washington state landslide – Rescue workers dig through mud and debris near Darrington, Washington, on Saturday, March 29.

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Washington state landslide – Mailboxes are seen in floodwater March 29 near Darrington.

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Washington state landslide – Searchers in Oso pause for a moment of silence on Saturday, March 29. It was observed at 10:37 a.m., exactly one week after the landslide tore through the small community.

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Washington state landslide – Search-and-rescue personnel attend a moment of silence at the fire house in Darrington.

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Washington state landslide – Ralph Jones helps provide shelter for Brooke Odenius, right, Klarissa Calviste and their baby daughters during the moment of silence at the fire house in Darrington.

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Washington state landslide – Staff Sgt. Jonathon Hernas of the Air National Guard carefully makes his way across debris and mud while searching for missing people March 29 in Oso.

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Washington state landslide – Air National Guard members look out at the hill where the landslide originated while they search through debris March 29 in Oso.

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Washington state landslide – Heavy machinery is used to move debris as members of the Air National Guard search for victims on March 29.

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Washington state landslide – Search-and-rescue workers wade through water covering a highway near Darrington on Thursday, March 27. The landslide left buildings covered in up to 40 feet of mud.

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Washington state landslide – A searcher walks near a massive pile of debris in Oso on March 27.

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Washington state landslide – The muddied waters of the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River mix with the cleaner flow of the river's South Fork on March 27.

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Washington state landslide – Emergency vehicles fill State Route 530 leading to the scene of the landslide in Oso on Wednesday, March 26.

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Washington state landslide – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee speaks on the phone with a victim's family member as he flies to the Snohomish County Emergency Operations Center in Everett on March 26.

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Washington state landslide – Search-and-rescue workers look through debris on March 26.

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Washington state landslide – Teresa Welter cries during a candlelight vigil in Arlington on Tuesday, March 25.

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Washington state landslide – The roof of a house sits among debris as emergency personnel continue to look for survivors on March 25.

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Washington state landslide – Search-and-rescue workers use dogs to look for survivors on March 25.

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Washington state landslide – A boot is found among the debris on March 25.

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Washington state landslide – A search-and-rescue worker looks for survivors on March 25.

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Washington state landslide – Chaplains watch as crews clear debris from State Route 530 in Oso on March 25.

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Washington state landslide – The remains of the massive landslide are seen on Monday, March 24. The landslide blocked the highway and the Stillaguamish River.

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Washington state landslide – A King County Sheriff's Office helicopter lowers a rescue worker on March 24.

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Washington state landslide – A search-and-rescue team carries the body of a victim on March 24.

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Washington state landslide – Volunteers help out with the search in Oso on March 24.

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Washington state landslide – Snohomish County Executive John Lovick wipes a tear during a briefing in downtown Arlington on March 24.

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Washington state landslide – Natalie Reed, right, and her 5-year-old daughter, Deja, attend a prayer service at Arlington United Church on March 24 for those affected by the landslide.

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Washington state landslide – An intact house sits at the edge of the landslide on March 24.

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Washington state landslide – The Langston family watches an online news clip about the landslide on Sunday, March 23, while they stay at a temporary Red Cross shelter in Darrington. The family's home was flooded after the landslide blocked the Stillaguamish River.

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Washington state landslide – A destroyed home is stranded atop mud and debris on State Route 530 near Oso on March 23.

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Washington state landslide – Downed power lines and parts of a destroyed house can be seen in the debris blocking the road near Oso on March 23.

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Washington state landslide – Gov. Jay Inslee, right, comforts Barbara Welsh after a news conference March 23 outside the Arlington Police Department. Welsh's husband, Bill, was among the scores of people listed as missing immediately after the disaster.

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Washington state landslide – Emergency workers arrive at the scene of the landslide on Saturday, March 22.

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Washington state landslide – Groundwater saturation, tied to heavy rainfall in the area over the past month, was blamed for the landslide.

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Washington state landslide – The landslide cut off the small town of Darrington and prompted an evacuation notice for fear of a potentially "catastrophic flood event," authorities said.

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Washington state landslide – The first Washington State Patrol trooper arrives on the scene on March 22, according to the patrol's Twitter feed.

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Story highlights

Although 108 people are missing, it doesn't mean they are dead, official says

The operation remains an "active rescue," not a recovery effort

Rescue crews are struggling to reach people because the area is unstable

A list of those reported missing following a landslide in rural Washington state includes 108 names, emergency officials said Monday.

But that doesn't mean all of them were killed in Saturday's disaster north of Seattle, Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington said.

The official death toll remains at eight with seven others hurt, he said.

Until Monday, the number of people unaccounted for was reported to be 18.

The landslide covered about a square mile and was caused by groundwater saturation tied to heavy rain in the area over the past month. It affected the towns of Oso, a remote community of about 180, and Darrington, a town of about 1,350.

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Pennington said the slide over a weekend made it more of a challenge for rescuers since more people were apt to be home than on a weekday.

The affected area includes 35 traditionally built houses, 13 manufactured homes and RVs, and a cabin, Pennington said at a news conference. About half were occupied full time, while some others were vacation homes.

Victims could also include "contractors and other workers" in the neighborhood as well as others who were "driving by," he said.

Authorities have worked feverishly to find survivors.

"Total devastation. I mean, it's just unbelievable. It reminds me of what a tornado looks like when it's touched the ground," Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said.

At one point, he pointed at a pile of muddy rubble.

"You can tell from the debris this appears to be part of somebody's kitchen, the inside of the house," he said.

Trenary said rescue crews worked both sides of the slide. Authorities also used helicopters to try to identify heat signatures, or people who may have been able to get free, he said.

But such work is complicated.

While there's a tremendous effort to rescue people who may be trapped, Snohomish County Fire District 21 Chief Travis Hots said Sunday that the rescue operation must be focused on keeping responders safe because the area is highly unstable.

The mud flow is like quicksand, he said. The landslide is 15 feet deep in some places.

Hots described the ongoing operation as an "active rescue," not a recovery effort.

Caroline Neal hopes her missing father, Steven, 52, will still be rescued. He's a plumber who was on a service call when the land gave way.

"My dad is a quick thinker, and he is someone who takes action in an emergency," Neal told CNN affiliate KING. "If he had any warning at all, we just have to think he is somewhere and he's safe and they just can't reach him right now.

On Saturday, rescuers dug through the rubble while survivors cried for help underneath debris.

Rescuers heard voices around 11:30 p.m. and considered trying to reach the possible survivor or survivors, but "the mud was too thick and deep," Hots told reporters, and rescuers had to back off.

"Mother Nature holds the cards here on the ability of ground personnel to enter the slide area. It is essentially a slurry," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee told reporters Sunday.

He called the rescue operation "aggressive."

"Every human endeavor ... is being explored here to rescue and find their loved ones," the governor said.

Inslee added that some rescuers had gotten "caught ... up to their armpits" in the slide and "had to be dragged out by ropes."

John Lovick, a county executive, addressed a reporter's question about whether voices were still being heard.

"We were told that there were noises in that area," Lovick said, stressing that fire chief Hots had decided that it was "too risky" to place rescuers in that area. "We are not hearing any reports of people hearing voices today or after last night."

Inslee said he received assurance from Federal Emergency Management Agency officials Monday morning that assistance is on the way.

FEMA Regional Administrator Kenneth Murphy told the governor in a phone call that he was providing a "verbal emergency declaration" that will allow for immediate federal assistance, the governor's office said in a news release.

As of Sunday evening, Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg told CNN the hospital was treating four patients in the intensive care unit -- a 6-month-old boy, and three men, 37, 58, and 81. A 25-year-old woman was also reported in satisfactory condition at the hospital.

The landslide cut off State Road 530 to Darrington. Part of the Stillaguamish River also was blocked, and residents were warned of possible flooding both upstream and downstream of the collapse.

The Washington State Patrol provided photos that showed floodwaters and sprawling debris covering a rural patch of the road, framed by woodlands and snow-capped mountains.

The first reports of the landslide came in around 10:45 a.m. Saturday (1:45 p.m. ET), the sheriff's office said.